Hello ! My name is Anh L. Tran (Tran Luong Anh). I am pursuing my Ph.D. degree in Philadelphia. Although my major is not music, the piano has come along with my life since I was 6 years old. My passion for music helped me keep playing during the busiest times. I am now spending more time listening to CDs and watching music DVDs than playing though.I have been collecting classical CDs for many years, including both piano and orchestral music, especially piano music of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, and Rachmaninoff. My greatest Chopin collections are the Rubinstein Chopin Collection 11CDs (released 1991) by RCA and the Complete Chopin Edition 17CDs (released 1999) by Deutsche Grammophon. Besides, I am interested in comparing different versions of a masterpiece played by various pianists. I also like searching and reading articles about classical music.
My most favorite composer is none other than Frederic Chopin. No composers' music has ever enjoyed such lasting and continuous popularity with so wide a range of people as Chopin's. In Rubinstein's words:
"Chopin was a genius of universal appeal. His music conquers the most diverse audiences. When the first notes of Chopin sound through the concert hall there is a happy sigh of recognition. All over the world men and women know his music. They love it. They are moved by it. Yet it is not "Romantic music" in the Byronic sense. It does not tell stories or paint pictures. It is expressive and personal, but still a pure art. Even in this abstract atomic age, where emotion is not fashionable, Chopin endures. His music is the universal language of human communication. When I play Chopin I know I speak directly to the hearts of people!"
My first attempt to Chopin's world was the nocturne Op.9 No.2 when I was 15 years old. Since then, his music plays an important part in my repertoire. My most favorite work of Chopin has been the Barcarolle Op.60 in F sharp major.
I launched this website on the 150th anniversary of Chopin's death (October 17, 1999), in memory of the great composer. At that time, the online resources about Chopin and his music are extremely limited. I tried to gather information from different sources, especially through the great contribution of visitors in the "Questions" section and the old discussion board (which was deleted by Yahoo many years ago) to create a place where visitors can find information about Chopin for school projects, further reading, and enjoyment of Chopin music. The website gained its popularity in a short time and has been a favorite place for Chopin's music lovers all over the world. I am grateful to continued contribution, support, and participation from visitors and friends.
With this site, I hope that people having interest in Chopin's music can exchange their ideas, play the games and above all discover the world of Chopin. If you have any suggestion, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for visiting my site and please do not forget to sign my guestbook.
